Who Says You Can’t Play With Your Food?

Musical veggies have been around as long as the farmer. Gourds have been made into drums. Maracas have been traditionally made out of a gourd. While the oldest known musical instruments were made of bone and date back around 42,000 years ago, it is hard to say exactly how long veggie music has been around since an instrument starts decomposing the very next day. It is a sure way to keep your music fresh.

Who says you can’t play with your food? You just have to be creative about it. You might even have an audience if you can carry a tune like these people:

The London Vegetable Orchestra

The LVO has been playing with their food for three years according to their website. They feature an orchestra of instruments including the carrot-recorder and a brass section of squashes, peppers and cassava roots. One of their musical selections is the classical “Greens-leaves.” They have appeared at the London Jazz Festival as well as many food festivals and garden shows.

Flutenveg

This group is from Australia where veggie music seems to have a strong following and they appear all over the world. Featured in the photo in their 24-carrot quarter version, Kerry and Alain also appear as a duo and in costume for the appropriate event. In addition to carrot pan pipes and flutes, they also play with their food such as ocarinas made out of gourds.

Can You Dig It

Based in the UK, Dan Woods and Jo Stephenson have been playing with their food across the greater UK for five years spreading the take on growing your own and sustainable living. It has proven so successful that they have released a CD of 16 songs, all about growing your own, including a rap battle between a gardener and a slug. Dan specializes in the cucumber trumpet and the carrot panpipes. Jo entertains with the hosepipe tuba as well as other veggie instruments.

J.Viewz

Jonathan Dagan, also known as the artist J.Viewz, is out of Brooklyn. When he is inspired, Dagan will go to the local produce section. With help from a synthesizer, the eggplant will become a base drum. Grapes will ring like bells. He uses the carrot as a high hat and mushrooms for electronic noises. When the recording session is over, he roasts the eggplant and turns it into a delectable Baba Ghanoush. He later posted his work on Facebook and got over 180,ooo views in a few days. One of the views was from his mother who gave cooking advice for the Ghanoush.

Linsey Pollak

Otago Daily Times

Linsey is the Master of playing with his food. Most, if not all, of the acts you see in this article as well as hundreds not seen were inspired by this man. His favorite material is the carrot as he can make a clarinet, recorder or flute out of the versatile veggie. Not limited to the food world, he has made a reputation of making a musical instrument out of almost any found object. In his own show, he entertains by making instruments out of the food and the cooking utensils at hand. Every day is an experiment for this creative musician. He has fans everywhere and has traveled the world for over 30 years sharing his expertise to audiences. There is none better.